Las Vegas • It’s been a busy few weeks for the Utah Utes.
Showing posts with label utah utes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label utah utes. Show all posts
Utah: 2022 Pac-12 Football Champions
LAS VEGAS -- The only blemish in USC's 11-win regular season had been a one-point loss to Utah in October. Thanks to the Pac-12's decision to turn its championship game into a matchup between its two best teams instead of division winners, the Trojans had an opportunity to make that loss moot and advance to their first College Football Playoff appearance in Lincoln Riley's first season as head coach.
But one blemish turned into two on Friday night, as No. 11 Utah played spoiler and proved it has USC's number this season.
The Utes scored 24 straight points at one point and went on to dominate No. 4 USC 47-24 to win their second straight Pac-12 title and likely keep the Trojans out of the fourth playoff spot.
"You come as far as this team has come and this program has come in the last 12 months, and obviously to not get it done, it's a tough pill to swallow," Riley said after the game. "They were definitely the better team tonight. They deserved it."
"Our players never stopped believing," Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham said. "We had a chip on our shoulder. We got the message loud and clear that people were underestimating us."
In what felt like a tangential version of the matchup between the teams earlier this season, the Utes' slow start did not hold them back. USC dominated the first quarter and raced to a 17-3 lead early thanks to a few more Heisman-worthy plays by quarterback Caleb Williams, who finished the game with 363 passing yards, 21 rushing yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
But it all unraveled in a hurry for USC. After pulling off a miraculous 59-yard run that had him gasping for air and walking gingerly, Williams never quite looked the same.
Afterward, Riley said that Williams "popped" his hamstring on that long first-quarter run.
"I asked him at one point, I was like, 'Are you 50 percent?'" Riley said. "And I mean, he was not even close to 50 percent. I definitely thought about taking him out. ... He wouldn't have let me. He wouldn't even let me take him out at the end."
Riley called the performance one of the gutsiest he has witnessed. Williams, meanwhile, described the feeling of his injury as that of an old rubber band.
"The rest of the game I felt it," Williams said. "But a person that I admire is Kobe [Bryant], and he always said the game is bigger than what you're feeling."
As Williams was nursing the injury, Utah was settling in. During the second quarter, quarterback Cameron Rising put together two touchdown drives at the end of the half to tie the score at 17.
In the second half, it became clear Williams was hurt. He favored his left side and was visibly limping. He showed some hesitation as he dropped back, and when the USC defense was on the field, he rode the stationary bike on the sideline to stay loose. At one point, backup quarterback Miller Moss grabbed his helmet and appeared to warm up, but Williams remained under center.
Though Williams stayed in the game, he was no longer the player that spearheaded one of the most explosive offenses in the nation. Having been unable to establish the run early, a hobbled Williams looked frozen in the pocket, and it all but sapped USC's scoring prowess. Williams was uncharacteristically sacked four times, and his throws lacked the pinpoint accuracy and strength they have had all season.
The Utes took advantage. Whittingham said postgame that Utah "smelled blood in the water" when the team noticed Williams was hurt in the third quarter and made a concerted effort to bring more pressure.
Utah not only pressured Williams plenty, but on offense it went back to its most reliable option against the USC defense: tight ends. Dalton Kincaid and Thomas Yassmin combined for 121 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown pass from Rising to Yassmin that pushed the lead back to 10 after USC had cut it to three in the fourth quarter.
By the time running back Ja'Quinden Jackson broke off a 53-yard touchdown run to put the Utes up by 16, the result was all but set in stone.
"I felt we took it a little personal," Rising said. "We saw all that as disrespect. We wanted to go out and prove a point."
Rising, a senior, finished with 310 yards passing to six receivers and three touchdowns. He continued to have success against USC and was selected the game's most valuable player postgame as the Utes once again did what no other team could all season: outscore and outgain the Trojans. Utah finished with 533 total yards to USC's 411. The Utes also finished with a title that Rising leaned into during the postgame ceremony: "Trojan killers."
The win sends the Utes back to the Rose Bowl. The Trojans, meanwhile, were left with not just two losses to the same team, but a hurt quarterback and no title to show for their turnaround season.
"We're not going to walk around like this is some funeral. We made a lot of progress to get to this point," Riley said. "Part of it is when you get to these moments, these big games, is groups that have been there before. [Utah] certainly have. A lot of our team has not."
The prevailing sentiment from Riley after the game was that the Trojans had run into a team that not only outplayed them, but also had more experience. The Utes indeed provide a stark contrast to USC's roster makeup. The transfer portal has defined Riley's first year at USC, and it's evident that Utah's continuity is its strength.
Yet as Riley debriefed on the loss and talked about preparing for USC's bowl game, he was sure to look ahead toward next season, when the Trojans might have some continuity but won't shy away from using change to gain an edge.
"There's going to be a lot of changes. That's college football in this day and age," Riley said. "We know what our mission is -- to be in that same locker room and feeling a whole helluva lot different than we do right now. We'll bring in a couple pieces who will help us on that journey."
Utah: 2017 Heart of Dallas Bowl Champions
DALLAS -- Zack Moss took a third-down handoff and burst through the line into an opening in the middle of the field. Utah was off and running to another bowl victory.
Moss ran for 150 yards, including a career-long 58-yard run for a touchdown on the Utes' opening drive in the Heart of Dallas Bowl as they went on to a 30-14 win over West Virginia on Tuesday. Utah is now 11-1 in postseason games under Kyle Whittingham, who matched Alabama's Nick Saban for the most bowl wins by an active coach.
"He knows how to coach the team and he always caps the year off right," Utah sophomore quarterback Tyler Huntley said.
Huntley scored twice on 2-yard keepers , but the Utes led for good in their fifth straight bowl victory after Moss broke free early on a drizzly and chilly day in Cotton Bowl Stadium.
"It was very important for us to come out of the gates with a big play early on and set the tone," said Moss, who like Huntley still has two seasons left with the Utes (7-6).
West Virginia (7-6) finished the season with its third straight loss. The Mountaineers had only 153 total yards without junior quarterback Will Grier, who broke a finger Nov. 18, and 1,000-yard rusher Justin Crawford, a senior who bypassed the bowl game in advance of the NFL draft.
"It was a pretty disappointing loss to end a pretty disappointing season," Mountaineers coach Dana Holgorsen said. "You never hear me use it as an excuse. If you lose guys, you need guys to step in and play at a high level and that is the bottom line."
Whittingham's debut as head coach was a Fiesta Bowl win at the end of the 2004 season. He co-coached that game with Urban Meyer, who had taken the Florida job three weeks earlier but returned to be part of Utah's postseason win over Pittsburgh after his defensive coordinator had been promoted to head coach.
Under Whittingham, the Utes prepare for bowl games like regular season games, often in full pads and with continuing conditioning work. There is also a little bit of peer pressure.
"We've got a group of guys and have had several groups of guys come here that take a lot of pride in their bowl performance and the bowl record that we have," Whittingham said. "This group was no different. Each subsequent group doesn't want to be the group that lets the previous groups down. They want to keep that bowl prowess alive."
THE TAKEAWAY
Utah: Both of Huntley's TDs came after West Virginia miscues. The first came after a muffed punt return set Utah up at the Mountaineers 13, and the second came after an offside penalty on a short punt gave the Utes a second chance on fourth down. Huntley then completed a 25-yard pass on the fourth-and-3 play before scoring on another short run.
West Virginia: The Mountaineers missed Grier, who broke the middle finger on his throwing hand early in a loss against Texas. Grier, whose 34 TD passes were the second most in a season for West Virginia, already has said he will return next year for his senior season.
SABAN'S TIEBREAKER?
Saban has a chance, maybe two, to add a bowl win this season. The Crimson Tide will play Clemson in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day in the College Football Playoff. Two other active coaches can get their 11th bowl wins before then: Miami's Mark Richt and Meyer, who is now at Ohio State.
ONE SHORT OF 1,000
KaRaun White's 18-yard TD catch with 2 minutes left for West Virginia put him over 1,000 yards receiving this season, along with teammate Gary Jennings. But David Sills V, who had 18 TD catches, had no catches Tuesday and finished 20 yards shy of giving the Mountaineers three 1,000-yard receivers.
UP NEXT
Utah: The junior seasons for Huntley and Moss begin at home on Aug. 30 against Weber State. For the start of what will be Whittingham's 14th full season, the Utes could have back 14 of their starters from the bowl game (eight on offense, six on defense).
West Virginia: Grier can be back in the lineup for the 2018 season opener Sept. 1 against Tennessee in Charlotte. It will be the third time in five years the Mountaineers will open a season against another Power Five opponent in an NFL stadium.
Utah: 2016 Foster Farms Bowl Champions
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Joe Williams ran for 222 yards and a touchdown and Andy Phillips kicked a 27-yard field goal with 1:24 to play to lead Utah to its 14th victory in its past 15 bowl games, 26-24 over Indiana in the Foster Farms Bowl on Wednesday night.
Tyler Huntley ran for another score and the Utes (9-4) forced three turnovers to spoil Tom Allen's coaching debut at Indiana and improve Utah coach Kyle Whittingham's bowl record to 10-1.
Allen took over the Hoosiers (6-7) after Kevin Wilson's sudden resignation this month. Allen had finished his first season at Indiana as defensive coordinator and is now tasked with rebuilding the team as he did in his one year with the defense.
He appeared to be off to a good start when the Hoosiers rallied from 10 points down to take a 24-23 lead early in the fourth quarter on Devine Redding's 3-yard run following a fumble by Utah's Zach Moss.
Williams then lost a fumble on the next drive for the Utes, but Griffin Oakes missed a 40-yard field goal attempt with 5:34 left to prevent the Hoosiers from adding onto the lead.
That proved costly when Williams ran for 64 yards on the ensuing drive to help set up Phillips' fourth field goal of the game to make it 26-24.
Indiana's last gasp chance ended when Richard Lagow was hit on a desperation heave near midfield.
THE TAKEAWAY
Indiana: Allen's debut started off well when Kyle Fulks fumbled the opening kickoff for Utah and Indiana turned that into a touchdown on a 7-yard pass from Lagow to Mitchell Paige. But the Hoosiers struggled on offense after that. Lagow went 14 for 39 for 188 yards and an interception. The receivers didn't help with several drops but Lagow was often off-target or had passes batted down at the line of scrimmage.
Utah: The Utes took advantage of the bowl game to get a good look at freshman quarterback Huntley, who could compete with Troy Williams for the starting job next season. Huntley completed a 36-yard pass to Kyle Fulks on his only throw but was used much more in the running game. He finished with 23 yards on eight carries with the touchdown.
UP NEXT
Indiana: Allen viewed the preparation and bowl game as the start of his first full season in 2017. The Hoosiers will jump right into it, hosting Ohio State in the season opener on Aug. 31.
Utah: The Utes will have a far easier opener, getting FCS-level North Dakota at home on Aug. 31.
Utah: 2015 Las Vegas Bowl Champions
Thanks to five BYU turnovers on their first five possessions of the game, the Cougars fell behind Utah 35-0 in the first 11 minutes as Utah turned each turnover into a touchdown -- two directly via pick sixes. The deficit proved to be seven points too many for the Cougars.
Story of the game: It has to be the turnovers. Based on how the final three quarters of the game went, if not for the horrid start to the game, BYU probably wins this one. The fact of the matter is Utah's offense was not good on Saturday. Of the Utes touchdown drives, none of which occurred outside the first quarter, the longest was 39 yards. Utah only had one drive longer than that the entire game, and it ended with a turnover on downs early in the fourth quarter.
All in all, BYU actually out-gained Utah 386-197 in the game, as the Utes averaged only 3.1 yards per play. In essence, BYU handed Utah a 35-0 lead early, and then the Utes held on for dear life.
Player of the game: I'm actually going to go with Utah punter, and Ray Guy award winner, Tom Hackett. As I said, Utah's offense was basically non-existent during this game. If not for Hackett averaging 49.5 yards on his six punts -- three of which were over 50 yards, four of which pinned BYU inside its own 20-yard line -- the Cougars may have been able to pull off this comeback.
Oh, and then there was Hackett running this fake punt in the second half to pick up what seemed like a pivotal first down at the time. BYU had scored two touchdowns to open the half and steal all the momentum, and for a moment you thought this fake punt would put the final nail in BYU's coffin. It didn't, though, because Hackett then came off the field and was replaced by Utah's impotent offense.
Highlight of the game: This was the second BYU turnover, which is also the first pick-six. Utah's Tevin Carter snagged this ball out of the air after the deflection and took it 28 yards to the house.
#PickSix for the Utes! Utah up 14-0 early in this postseason rivalry game! #LasVegasBowl pic.twitter.com/MjGjAFGbot
Tweet of the game:
There were a lot of good tweets during this game, particularly early
when Utah jumped out to that 35-0 lead, but my favorite was actually a
quote of something Brent Musberger said while calling the game.Brent is a national treasure.
Grade: This game was a lot more exciting than anybody thought it would be after the first couple minutes of action, but even so, I just can't give it an "A." The fact is that while there was nearly an epic comeback, it's not like either team played very well. I mean, BYU did have five turnovers after all, and as I mentioned earlier, Utah's offense averaged only 3.1 yards per play. B+
Utah: 2014 Las Vegas Bowl Champions
Las Vegas • Colorado State’s vaunted passing attack dried up and wilted while Utah’s maligned offense buried the Rams in the Mojave Desert.
Before 33,067 fans at UNLV’s Sam Boyd Stadium — three-fourths wearing red — Utah made the most of its first bowl appearance in three years.
Some had wondered how these Utes would fare against a powerhouse from their old conference. Their answer: 45-10.
Junior quarterback Travis Wilson was named most valuable player, Kyle Whittingham tied John Robinson for the best bowl win percentage in NCAA history among coaches with at least seven wins, at 8-1, and fans who planned on attending the Runnin’ Utes game against UNLV later Saturday night were able to leave early for the nightcap.
It’s what Utah had been waiting for.
"That really was a product of the preparation of the last three weeks," Whittingham said. "All they had to do was come out and do what they did the last three weeks and execute."
On Utah’s very first play, Wilson handed it to Devontae Booker, who pitched it to Jason Thompson, who threw it back to Wilson, who heaved it 36 yards downfield to Kaelin Clay.
Any notion that offensive coordinator Dave Christensen would be too conservative was quickly dispelled.
Two plays later, Wilson jogged in from 8 yards out for his first of three rushing touchdowns, to complement 158 yards and another score through the air.
Colorado State interim head coach Dave Baldwin said afterward that Utah’s offensive firepower — they totaled 548 yards, 359 on the ground — surprised him.
The fight went out of his Rams when sophomore defensive tackle Filipo Mokofisi recovered a third-quarter fumble and Wilson darted over the goal line, followed by an interception from senior linebacker Jacoby Hale that led to a 10-yard rushing touchdown from junior running back Bubba Poole.
The Rams were on their back foot from the opening kick, though.
Redshirt freshman running back Troy McCormick broke free for 49 yards, on Utah’s second drive — on just his fifth carry since Week Two — and another redshirt freshman, wideout Delshawn McClellon, caught a 16-yard Wilson pass in the back left corner of the end zone.
But while the Rams couldn’t match the Utes’ class, in the earlygoing, at least, they didn’t lack for sass.
CSU quarterback Garrett Grayson tossed a lateral pass to wideout Charles Lovett, who fired it right back, and Grayson trailed a herd of Ram blockers 39 yards to the end zone.
After Booker rumbled 60 yards for a first-down score, the Rams then responded with a 59-yard connection between Grayson and Biletnikoff finalist Rashard Higgins and a 41-yard Jared Roberts field goal to make it 21-10 — the highest-scoring first quarter in Las Vegas Bowl history.
Grayson finished with 227 yards, giving him 4,006 for the season, but struggled as Utah’s down linemen applied regular pressure.
"I’m very surprised, to be honest," he said. "I never, in a million years, saw that score happening."
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